Zilpha Geary
|Image=Taboo-Webcast-02-Zilpha-Geary.jpg |Birth= |Death= Drowned herself in the Thames (1814) |Occupation= |Allies= James Delaney Lorna Bow |Enemies= Thorne Geary |Interests= |Education= |Family= Horace Delaney † (father) Unidentified mother † James Delaney (half-brother) Thorne Geary † (husband) Robert (half-brother/son) Anna Delaney † (step-mother) Lorna Bow (step-mother) |First appearance=''Episode 1'' |Last appearance= Episode 8 |Portrayer= Oona Chaplin |status: = Deceased [https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/3093679/second-series-taboo-start-cast-tom-hardy/ Season 2- Who will be in the cast with Tom Hardy? — "Zilpha, played by Oona Chapilin, will not return after ending her life in the season one finale."] }} was a major character in the first season of BBC and FX original drama, Taboo. ''She was portrayed by actress Oona Chaplin. Official Description " Zilpha is Horace Delaney's child by his second marriage and James Delaney's younger half-sister. Married to Thorne Geary. A devout Christian." [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5ggGXQ5yhVw64hJw077jmVs/cast-and-characters ''BBC One -Taboo Cast and Characters] Character Overview was a young woman with olive skin, long black hair often tied back in a bun, and delightful brown eyes. Zilpha was wearing fine clothes, emphasising her beauty and social status. Her seemingly fragile appearance hid demons of her own, prancing behind the apparent look of a devoted wife. Story Background Zilpha Delaney is the estranged daughter of Horace Delaney and his second wife, as well as the younger half-sister of James Delaney. At some point during their youth, Zilpha and James fell in love and started an incestuous relationship that ended very badly, with James leaving without looking back. At some point, Zilpha married Thorne Geary and cut off any contact with her father. Seeing a Ghost thumb|230px|Zilpha is reunited with James took part in the funeral cortege of her father riding a horse, proceeding slowly behind the carriage with the casket. In church, she was deeply affected by the presence of her brother, long believed dead. However, when the two siblings tried to interact, her husband stepped to every possibility of dialogue. Thorne was an obstacle even when Zilpha tried to write a letter to her brother, forcing her to send a letter in secret. The couple had several unpleasant conversations about the inheritance and the way to get rid of James, and Zilpha was quite amused by the empty threats of her husband. Zilpha received a blank letter from her brother, accompanied by a rough diamond that she immediately put away safely in a locked jewellery box. During the reading of the testament of the late Horace Delaney, it came to light the absence of Zilpha from her father's will who, instead, left everything to James. This caused resentment in her husband, but Zilpha managed to convince him to leave the office without tantrums. Later that night, Zilpha was approached by James during an orchestra concert and the two had a brief however unpleasant conversation about their feelings not entirely repressed or forgotten. Vaguely seduced by the passionate letters from James, Zilpha struggled to hold back her heart beating in her chest, repressing her feelings toward her step-brother reminding James – and herself – to be a happily married woman now, moreover, with a fervent Christian. However, Zilpha agreed to secretly meet James in a church, where the two shared a seeming farewell kiss. Once home, during dinner, Zilpha was scolded by her husband in front of the servants about her monthly period, evidence of yet absent pregnancy hoped by Thorne Geary. Choking back tears of humiliation, Zilpha was shocked by the allegations of her husband about her perverse desires. Demons Zilpha received the nocturnal visit to her brother in a dream, during which the two had sexual intercourse consumed somewhere between dream and reality, between desire and nightmare. Zilpha even began to murmur words in the Ashanti Twi language, woke with a start when she recited a Christian prayer to ward off the evil visions. Frightened and wrapped in blankets, she was raped by her drunken husband just returned home after a hangover. Invited to the soirée of Countess Musgrove, Zilpha had occasion to have a word with James at first, and then with Lorna Bow. When the party began to degenerate into an orgy and then in a fight between James and Thorne Geary, Zilpha looked shocked her husband challenging her brother in a duel. Anxious about the outcome of the duel, Zilpha embraced her husband when he returned home, but the two soon began to argue because Thorne doubted the love of his wife, and her desire to see him dead. Overnight, Zilpha murmured the name of James during sleep, unfortunately, in the presence of her husband. He then dragged her out of bed to beat her violently to the face. Frightened and in pain from the beatings, Zilpha was further humiliated by her husband, who had hired a priest to exorcise her. Unable to free herself from the grip of her husband, Zilpha was forced to undergo an exorcism. Tied to the ground in a circle of candles, Zilpha had to submit to the ritual of exorcism, including the priest who touched her breasts while intoning verses of Psalms in Latin. Once the ritual ended, Zilpha returned to the bedroom pulling a long sewing needle from the dresser drawer, looking with disdain her husband asleep on the bed. The Price of Freedom When Lorna Bow showed up at Geary house looking for information on James, Zilpha supported her husband against the alleged step-mother, with her face swollen from beatings and weak voice. After driving out the woman, Zilpha sought refreshment in a hot bath but was disturbed by her husband with whom she conversed coldly. During the night, the woman took enough courage to kill her husband through a long needle inserted through the chest cavity. Thrilled by the gesture, she reached Delaney Mansion during a storm, embracing her brother, finally free from her abusing husband. Preparing for the funeral, Zilpha pinned her hat with the same pin with which she had killed her husband. After the funeral ceremony, Zilpha made love to James and was almost suffocated during intercourse, since the man was prey to strange disturbing visions. Following her husband's funeral, Zilpha began to fantasise to resume the relationship with her half-brother but was dissuaded from carrying out her intention by James himself, who offered Zilpha one of his rough diamonds so that she could continue to live in comfort. The woman burst into tears, realising that she had killed her husband for nothing. Disheartened by the unbearable burden of her own life, Zilpha decided to end her life by jumping into the Thames. Her decision was announced in a letter that she wrote to James, in which she claimed to yearn for peace that she had been denied in society, asking her half-brother to keep a memory of her, while her soul was destined to Heaven, or perhaps to Hell because of their love, deemed immoral by social constructs. After Lorna discovered about the suicide by reading the letter, James said to her that if Zilpha had really drowned, he would have heard and felt it. In spite of James's refusal to accept her death, after killing Dumbarton, James had a vision involving Zilpha. In the vision they were both underwater and, after kissing, Zilpha promised they would see each other again, but assumed the semblance of a drowned corpse carried away by the waves. Her fate is, therefore, unknown. Memorable Quotes :"Whatever happens with this business of inheritance, and no matter if it results in dispute, I hope I can trust you to keep the secrets of the past buried. Buried in a deeper grave." :― Zilpha in a letter addressed to James ---- :Thorne Geary: We will haunt this n— to justice! :Zilpha Geary: He's already haunted. Come. :― after discovering the last will and testament. ---- :"This is very simple, James. Take away a little ancient history. You live in the East, I live in the West, there are no practical difficulties." :― Zilpha to James ---- :"Dear James, at last, I have found a way out of the cage in which I have been living. Eyes I didn't know I had were opened. I saw the limits of my life, the iron bars around my soul. At last, I found a way to slip between them. I intend to leave society, leave London, leave England behind, travel to a place where I will be free. It is a place where, someday, I hope we will meet and be happy. ... I'm planning to journey to heaven, James. I've realised the truth. My cage is my flesh, I can shed it. The River Thames will take me to God. Death is just the turning of a key in a lock. Whether God will accept me is another matter, perhaps my husband will have spoken of my betrayal. Or perhaps my feelings for you, unforgivable feelings for you, will mean the Thames will take me to a different place. Whatever my destination, if you survive your recklessness, please, keep some part of my soul inside your own." :― Zilpha's last words ---- Images Episode Appearances ;Season 1 *S1, Ep. 1: Episode 1 *S1, Ep. 2: Episode 2 *S1, Ep. 3: Episode 3 *S1, Ep. 4: Episode 4 *S1, Ep. 5: Episode 5 *S1, Ep. 6: Episode 6 *S1, Ep. 7: Episode 7 *S1, Ep. 8: Episode 8 Notes * Her full name is Zilpha Annabelle Geary, née Delaney. * In the fifth episode, the exorcist said that Zilpha was possessed by a "Barbason". The name of a demon or fiend mentioned by Shakespeare alongside Lucifer and Amaimon in "The Merry Wives of Windsor." * In "Episode 3", Zilpha's address can be seen on one of James's letters. The address reads "Buckland Place, Chelsea." Buckland Place does not appear on any maps of Chelsea dating from 1810-1817, but it may be a reference to Buckland Manor, an English country home. * Addressing incest between James and Zilpha, actress Oona Chaplin expressed her support for portraying such shocking themes, forcing the audience to face issues head-on. [https://nerdist.com/oona-chaplin-tom-hardy-taboo-incest/ Nerdist, Oona Chaplin says Taboo's incest with Tom Hardy forces the audience to "Look at your s**t".] [https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/01/taboo-recap-episode-2-incest-oona-chaplin-tom-hardy Vanity Fair, Game of Thrones and Taboo Star Oona Chaplin Explains Why TV Is Obsessed with Incest] * Despite Robert is believed to be Horace Delaney's illegitimate son, there is the possibility he was conceived by Zilpha and James before he left England towards Africa. [https://moviepilot.com/p/who-is-the-boy-in-taboo-tom-hardy-james-son/4204718 Who Is The Boy In 'Taboo'? Episode 5 May Reveal Robert's Mysterious Identity —Movieplot.com] References Category:Female Character Category:Main Character Category:Deceased Character Category:Season 1 Character Category:Supporting Character